Doug Miller has volunteered to pick up the newsletter via his site at Homestead - I am also going to launch via email temporarily and possibly down the road I will be able to hook up with a site that launches emails but keeping the newsletter free is our main goal. I am sending Doug several newsletters I had written that did make the website.

We have not had anyone keeping us posted on upcoming shows and flea markets - would love to list many of them if collectors would report in. I would like to start a section next month featuring a collector telling their own story about how they got started with Shawnee pottery and share some stories and pictures if available. This was a feature in Pam Curran's original newsletter and one of the most popular - all of us have had some interesting experiences and finds along the way. Am looking for volunteers to send in their story - please join in and make this a newsletter about all of us. I love to talk Shawnee but this newsletter is for EVERYONE to share - we welcome inquiries on pieces you have seen or found - oddities or possibly a yet undiscovered piece that would alert all of us. I often hear from those of you that email that you don't have a very big collection - HEY - we all started somewhere and many are more focused than others - believe me, as fellow collectors we love to share and see how others display their collections. Years ago when I first saw a friends collection in Indiana, I recall her telling me "a piece at a time and in looking back you will have acquired a nice collection!". She helped educate me along the way by sharing the wealth of information she had!

As an early collector, I remember buying my first gold trim elephant creamer - I was so disappointed when it came with red lacquer ears - actually called the seller and wanted to return it as felt it had been added by someone!!!! I was only familiar with the under glazed red bibs and the less desirable cold paint red - little did I know how many gold trim pieces have the red lacquer on it. Have since heard many stories of collectors going so far as to use turpentine to remove it - hate to tell you - it is there to stay as to date no one has figured a way to remove it.

Here are a few pictures of range Smiley shakers - note that two of these do NOT have matching decals - obviously when originally purchased these were paired - we tend to assume decals to be matching and hole counts should be four/five but this is not the case in many of the range pairs as indicated by these sets

Spring 2004

I regret that Ed has decided not to continue the newsletter at ShawneePottery.com - we were doing well and creating a lot of interest until the email launching of a major virus caused everyone so many problems and some felt it may have come with the newsletter - not true as Ed is an expert in computers and checked it thoroughly during this ordeal. His decision to post the newsletter on the site instead slowed down the response and participation. Also his travels for his job limits his time.